Christmas Party
by btamamura
Summary: Part of my AU series. Misty's sisters have organised a party for the six friends to celebrate the holiday season. Naturally, mistletoe will be involved. Contains fluffy Poke(shipping) and Starch(shipping) moments, but is friendship only. Childhood fic.


**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Pokemon or the characters. They are the property of Tajiri Satoshi, Nintendo, Game Freak, etc._

**Notes: **_**I sometimes write Christmas fics for my fave pairings, and this year, I've decided it will be for Pokemon. This is set in my AU series, which means there are no Pokemon. They are just children, so there's no romance involved. But, there is some pre-relationship Pokeshipping and Starchshipping (Ash x Misty and Tracey x Cilan). Like I said though, it's mostly friendship as the two couples don't form until they're in high school.**_

_**Enjoy, and Happy Holidays to all of you!**_

It was a week before Christmas. Misty and her older sisters were going to be away for the holiday season, so it was decided there would be a small party for her and her friends before Christmas instead.

Five young boys stood at the door with one woman. Delia, Ash's mother, had volunteered to take all of the boys to Misty's house for the day. She pressed the doorbell, and the door was answered by an older girl who looked to be at least fourteen. "Hi, you're all Misty's friends, right? Come on in!"

"Thank you for the invite," the boys chorused as they entered the house.

The girl looked to Delia. "Thank you for bringing them here, Miss Delia. The party will be over about six o'clock, would you be able to pick them up then?"

"Of course, Daisy." She looked down to the boys. "Now, make sure you're on your best behaviour, alright?"

"Okay!"

Delia was about to say more, but some tiny footfalls interrupted as a small, redheaded girl in a pale blue dress ran up to them. "You're here!" Misty looked up to Delia. "Hi, Miss Delia!"

"Hello there, Misty. You look lovely in that dress."

"Thank you." She grinned widely at the compliment.

"Well, I'll be off now. Have fun, kids!"

"Bye, Miss Delia!" four boys and two girls responded.

"Bye, Mummy!" Ash called.

Daisy shut the door as the youngest children started talking amongst themselves. "We're still setting things up, so how about you all go to Misty's room until then?"

"Okay!" Misty took hold of Ash's hand and pulled him to her bedroom, followed by the four older boys.

Tracey smiled and gasped in awe at the colour scheme for Misty's bedroom. "It's like we're in the ocean," he commented.

"Yeah, I like the beach, so Mummy painted my room this way. She and Daddy are working, so Daisy's in charge tonight," Misty explained. She pointed to a craft table in the middle of the room. "How about we make some Christmas cards to give to everyone? One for each of us, one for each person in our families."

"A wonderful idea, Misty," Cress responded.

She led the group to the table and they all sat around it. "We need to be careful tonight. Lily's in a lovey mood again."

Ash cocked his head and put a finger to his bottom lip in thought. "What does that mean?"

"She put this stuff called mistletoe all around the house again..."

"But, the only boys here are me and Tracey and Cilan and Ash and Cress," Chili pointed out. "It's not like Lily can kiss any boys her age."

"She doesn't want to do the kissing, she wants to see kissing." Misty looked thoughtful as she tried to remember what her sister had said. "Hmm, I think she was saying that there are some cute couples among us or something like that."

"Oh! Like you and Ash?"

"We're not like that!" Ash protested loudly.

"Now now, dear brother, you need to stop teasing them. They're still too young." Cress cast a glance at Tracey and Cilan who were already working on making cards. "More like those two."

Misty giggled. She could remember a conversation from the day that she first met all of the boys in the room.

_**The children sat down and started eating their lunch. Chili smirked. "So, Ash, is Misty your **__girlfriend__**?"**_

_**Ash blinked in confusion. "Huh?"**_

_**"You know..."**_

_**"Chili, Ash is still too young to understand," Cress sighed. "Besides, I'm sure it's obvious that she is."**_

_**"Come on, you two, stop teasing them," Cilan chided.**_

_**Tracey started laughing to himself. He felt Ash tap his shoulder. "What's up, Ash?"**_

_**"What does Chili mean?"**_

_**"Well, it's like this. There are two ways someone is a girlfriend. First, Misty is a girl, and she is your friend."**_

_**"Ohh...then, Misty is my girlfriend!"**_

_**"But, I think Chili meant in the way that you two would get married."**_

_**"No way! Boys are icky!" Misty protested.**_

_**"And girls have cooties!" Ash added.**_

_**The older boys laughed.**_

_**"Hey, Tracey? Does this mean Cilan is your boyfriend? He is a boy and he is a friend, right?"**_

_**"No. He's a boy and he's my **__best __**friend!"**_

Ash heard Misty giggling. "What's so funny, Mist?"

"Oh, nothing. Now, what do you want on your card? Tracey and Cilan are already way ahead of us."

An hour later, everyone only had one last card to make. It was going to be for someone they considered extra special in their lives. Because of that, they split up and worked in different areas of the room. They would exchange the cards at the party.

There was a knock on the door, and a thirteen-year-old girl with dark hair poked her head in. "Misty, the party's starting. You and your friends can come into the living room now. But, watch out for Lily's mistletoe surprises."

"Okay, Violet, we'll just finish these and then we'll be on our way down," Misty replied, not turning to her sister, instead focusing on finishing the card she was making.

Violet smiled and quietly closed the door.

"Wow!" the young children exclaimed as they entered the party room. Misty's sisters had gone all out in making sure the kids would have a great party. There was a table loaded with snacks and drinks, some games had been set up, there were lots of Christmas decorations on the walls...even a large Christmas tree!

"I thought Mummy and Daddy said we didn't need a tree this year because we're going away," Misty remarked.

"Yeah, but this is necessary for a Christmas party," Daisy replied. "We also have some gifts for each of you to open."

"We have something for you too!" Chili added as he and the rest of the children approached the older girls. They each held out three cards. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Daisy!" Ash handed a card to the oldest sister, before moving onto to Violet, and then one to Lily.

"These are really nice, thank you," Lily responded as she gazed upon the cards the kids had made.

"Go on and open your presents now," Daisy offered.

Once everyone had shared the cards with the older girls, they moved to the tree and found the gifts with their names written on them (Tracey helped point out Ash and Misty's gifts as they were still learning how to read) and sat nearby to unwrap them.

Ash and Chili got toy robots, Cress got a picture book full of rhymes for children, Tracey got some markers and pencils (Misty had informed them of his love of art), Cilan got a DVD of one of his favourite movies featuring action-star Brycen (also thanks to Misty's information), and Misty got a doll. They all turned to the older girls and smiled widely, holding their gifts close and saying thank you over and over until they were told it was enough.

"Now, are you all going to have some snacks or play games? But, remember to watch out for my traps," Lily commented. "We'll be in the other room if you need us. Have fun, you lot!"

Ash was at the snack table picking out a cup filled with juice when Misty stepped over to join him. She was still holding the doll. "This is fun, huh?" Ash asked.

Misty nodded and picked up a cup of juice. "My sisters can be mean, but they can also be nice."

Chili pointed to Ash and Misty and started laughing. "Oh no, look up, you two!"

They did and saw something above them. "Is that...?" Ash asked.

Cress nodded from nearby. "That is mistletoe. Tradition states that you two must kiss."

"Does tradiwhatsitcalled say how?"

"On the cheek is fine."

Misty nodded and pecked Ash on the cheeks, then pulled back and smiled brightly. "It's okay, we are friends, right?"

Ash nodded before returning it. "Yeah, it's okay."

Chili continued laughing to himself, he knew he was never going to let them forget that first kiss between them, even if it was on the cheek.

Meanwhile, in a quiet part of the room, Tracey and Cilan offered cards to each other. They were the special cards they'd made. "Merry Christmas, Tracey," Cilan whispered as he handed Tracey his card.

"You too, Cilan. Merry Christmas." Tracey handed the younger boy the card. He smiled at the picture on the one he'd received. "Looks like we both thought the same thing, huh?"

Cilan nodded as he gazed at the cute drawing Tracey put on the card. He opened it and read the message scrawled inside. _Merry Christmas to my very best friend. May we always be together. Love Tracey._

Tracey opened his card and read what Cilan had written. _Spending time with you is the greatest joy I can have. Merry Christmas, my best friend. Love Cilan._ He couldn't hold back, he wrapped his arms around the green-haired boy and smiled gently. "Thank you, Cilan. I love spending time with you too."

Cilan returned the embrace.

Cress chuckled and pointed up. "Tracey, Cilan, look up."

They did and sighed. It seemed Lily knew someone would stand in that corner. Well, tradition did call for it. They exchanged a quick kiss on the cheek, but they did not let go of each other. They felt there was no reason to. Friends could hug each other, right?

The party eventually had to end. The older girls entered the room to remind the children time was up. "So, did anybody wind up under the mistletoe?" Lily asked.

"Yeah! Ash and Misty did!" Chili chuckled.

"Oh, I just knew you would! Our little Misty got her first kiss!"

"It was only on the cheek," Cress pointed out.

"Still, it was a kiss from a boy who isn't related, that's still special."

"Also, Tracey and Cilan were under the mistletoe."

Daisy giggled. "I knew that would happen somehow. You put it in the quietest corner of the room, didn't you, Lil?"

"I did. I just knew at least those two would be there," Lily replied.

Chili's laughter came harder. "Now, I have two stories about this evening to bring up when we grow up!"

"Please don't..." Cilan pleaded, gripping Tracey's hand as he always did when feeling insecure.

Tracey tightened the grip and smiled. "It's okay. We're friends, and friends can kiss each other too. You don't need to be embarrassed."

Cilan returned the smile. "You're blushing too."

"Just because of the attention on us right now."

Sure enough, everyone else in the room was looking at the two of them, all of the girls commenting on how cute the two of them were while the boys were chuckling.

Everyone knew that it was one Christmas they would never forget. Not that Chili would ever let them forget anyway.

Misty gasped. "Oh! Before you go!" She turned to Ash. "Here, I made this card for you." She blushed lightly, hoping he liked the card she'd made especially for him.

He smiled brightly. "Thanks, Misty, it's really pretty!" He opened it and saw some scrawlings inside. It was a heart and Misty's name written clumsily. He handed a card to Misty. "This one's for you too."

She smiled widely at the pictures of fish and flowers on front. She opened it and saw Ash had signed it in a similar way. "Thanks, Ash, I love it!"

There was a final card exchange before Delia arrived to take the boys home.

"Did you all have fun?" she questioned as she drove the van home. All of the boys were having a sleepover at her house that night.

They clutched their presents and cards and smiled widely. "We did have lots of fun, Mum," Ash replied. He kept looking at the card Misty gave him, always smiling that bit wider when he saw what she'd written inside.

Cress and Chili slept on the way home, both a little tired after the big day. Tracey and Cilan just continued to look at the cards they'd received from each other.

Ash was telling Delia about what happened at the party. "And Lily put up mistletoe, and I kissed Misty and she kissed me. On the cheek though, and it was okay because we're friends, and friends don't have cooties like other girls except you and Misty do. And Tracey and Cilan kissed each other under the mistletoe too."

"Did you now?"

"Yeah, and it was really nice."

"That's good."

After dinner, all of the boys went to bed, still tired from their big day. They all put their cards and presents away carefully and got into the beds that had been set up. Delia knew from experience that Cress and Chili would share a bed, Cilan and Tracey felt comfortable sleeping together, and sometimes Ash would sleep with Tracey. So, there were two beds set up. One for two of the triplets, and the other for three boys.

As she turned off the light, she caught a glimpse of the cards Ash had received and smiled. "Goodnight, boys. Sweet dreams."

Tracey lay on his back between his best friend and his _baby brother_, both of them holding onto him as all five boys snored softly.


End file.
